Ben Cleveland NFL Draft 2021: Scouting Report for Baltimore Ravens OL

HEIGHT: 6'6¼"

WEIGHT: 343

POSITIVES

—Enormous frame with a barrel chest, broad shoulders and a rocked up, well-rounded build

—Generates consistent movement at the point of attack in Georgia’s inside-zone, duo and power-heavy schemes

—Does an excellent job covering up and being heavy on double-teams to knock the 3-technique on their heels and delivers major pop to cave the nose tackle in before his climb to the second level

—Effective puller to his left with enough quickness and agility to get on his horse, line up and kick out the end man on the line or transition to a log block to seal them inside

—Stout anchor with an ironhead that he uses often to stun oncoming defenders and stop them in their tracks

—Very good mental processing to key and diagnose a variety of stunts, twists and late loopers

NEGATIVES

—Uses his head too often at the point of attack, which leads to some inaccurate fits against shifty defenders who can use their hands to disengage

—Adequate foot quickness and lateral agility

—Slow out of his stance as a pass protector; steps rather than drives and explodes, resulting in limited range

—Limited movement skills in space; takes choppy steps and doesn’t adjust well to speedy linebackers that he can’t latch on to right away

2020 STATISTICS

—Nine starts at right guard

—All-SEC First Team by the AP and coaches

—Third-team All-American by the AP

NOTES

—Opted out of the 2020 Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl to prepare for the draft

—Ruled academically ineligible for the 2019 Sugar Bowl

—48 career game appearances with 25 starts (all at right guard)

OVERALL

Cleveland is an enormous dude with a great looking build, excellent play strength and an ultra-physical playing style that is best suited in a gap/power/inside zone oriented run scheme where he is asked to predominantly generate vertical displacement and play downhill.

He processes line games, stunts and blitzes quickly so the mental demands of playing inside aren’t too much for him, but he is scheme dependent due to adequate movement skills and has questions about his commitment to the game that need to be answered.

GRADE: 7.5/10 (Late Round 3)

OVERALL RANK: 95/300

POSITION RANK: IOL13

PRO COMPARISON: Older Mike Iupati

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn